For Richer or For Poorer?
by MadaleineWinchester
Summary: Modern AU. [Arthur/Gwen] Arthur is the son of Uther Pendragon, the owner of the biggest real estate company in the country. He's rich and he's used to the luxury life and so is his friend Merlin except he's a little less snobby. However, what happens when Arthur finds himself falling in love with a simple girl named Gwen? Does he choose money and power over love?
1. I

**A/N:** Hello guys and welcome to my second Merlin fanfic! This story came to me during a boring class of Math and I was eager to give it a go. This story is set in the modern day and is a modern twist on the Arthur/Gwen love story. If you haven't yet, check out my other Merlin fanfic if you're interested. If you love the story and think I should carry on, don't be shy to leave me a review. I've currently only written one chapter and I'm waiting for any responses to carry on. Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review! ;)

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong> Misery

The sun was hitting his eyes and the smell of food was entering his nose. As he slowly opened his puffy eyelids, he noticed the curtains had already been drawn apart and his breakfast was already lying on the bedside table. He looked over at the digital clock that had fuzzy numbers on. He rubbed his eyes and once it was clear, the clock read nine thirty-four AM. He grabbed onto his phone from underneath his pillow and noticed he hadn't set his alarm. "_Oh, damn it_. _I'm already late_." He cursed at himself inwardly. He noticed his inbox was bombarded with recent messages. He opened the inbox to find four texts from his closest friend, Merlin. They had been friends for years and had met each other in High School. Since then, they became inseparable and the both now worked for Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon.

"_You're late and your father isn't happy!_" One of Merlin's messages read. He let out a groan and shoved the bed covers aside, slipping on the blue slippers that sat beside his bed.

He dragged himself over to the bathroom where there was already a hot bath prepared, steaming and everything, just the way Arthur Pendragon liked it. He was used to the luxury life and everything being done for him. And who could blame him considering he was the richest around in his neighbourhood? His father was the owner of the largest real estate business in London and the money would literally come pouring in. In the past few years, Uther became driven for money and power. Ever since his wife died, it was as if the Pendragon family was torn straight through the middle. Uther became a different man and eventually dragged his own son into his pit of coldness.

Arthur glared at his reflection in the clouded mirror, wiping away the steam to reveal his sleepy face. He scraped his hand along his chin; his stubble was a little overgrown but he was already late and there was no time to shave. Before entering the bathtub, he made sure to remove his expensive Omega watch he had wrapped around his wrist and placed it by the sink. He pulled down his boxers and dipped his foot first in the water. As his big toe touched the surface of the water, he let out a shriek. The water was boiling and now it seemed there was no time to even freshen himself up.

"Gaius!" He yelled for his butler. He angrily grabbed onto one of the many towels lying around and wrapped his waist to cover his crotch. At that moment, the man he had yelled for came scurrying into the bathroom, panicking and sweating.

"Yes, Arthur?" He asked him, his voice trembling a little. Gaius was the type to never get anything wrong and was highly respected by the Pendragons, hence the reason why he was instated butler of the Pendragon household.

"The water is absolutely boiling," Arthur said angrily, pointing at the water that was still letting off fumes. "Were you trying to get me burnt?"

"No, not at all, Arthur. I'm sorry, my apologies, I will try and make the water a little less hot." He lunged himself beside the bathtub and opened the tap to let the cold water run.

"I'm already late for work. Forget the bath." He moaned, letting out a huff.

"Have you eaten anything? It won't do you any good if –"

"No, Gaius. I'm late," He cut him off and reminded him sternly, still tightly grappling onto the towel wrapped around his waist. "Now, I really need to get changed." He shooed his butler out of the room.

Gaius nodded and rushed out of the bathroom, taking the fresh pancakes and orange juice on the tray away and into the kitchen; another good breakfast gone to waste. Arthur walked back into his room and opened his closest, revealing all the expensive suits of various colours and shades. He picked out his favourite navy blue suit by his personal favourite brand, Armani. He grabbed onto the suit, first placing on his white shirt and then the navy blue trousers. Then came the black leather shoes. Then he put the jacket over the white shirt and grabbed a matching tie, tying it up sloppily because there really was no more time to waste. But he was missing one thing; his gold cufflinks of course. Once he had rummaged through his drawers and found them, he quickly clipped them on and grabbed his professional briefcase.

"_Oh, my hair_." He sighed and quickly rushed back to the bathroom and noticed his golden hair was still a mess. With a bit of gel, he rubbed it into his hair and once it was looking good again, he darted to the front door and rushed out, leaving the door for Gaius to close.

Parked right in front of the mansion was Arthur's black Maserati, his beauty and pride. Once he reached its door, he scrambled through the papers and other items in his briefcase to find his keys right at the bottom. He quickly shoved the keys into the car's keyhole and twisted it. Once he was in, he chucked his briefcase violently onto the seat beside him and all the papers that were once in the case spilled onto the car's floor.

"I swear this only happens to me!" Arthur yelled at himself. Instead of picking up the mess, he left the papers and turned the car on, the vroom from the car making a loud but pleasant sound. Before he could even drive anywhere, his phone in his pocket vibrated. He unlocked the screen and it was yet another message from Merlin.

"_Arthur, are you sleeping for goodness sake?_" It read. He looked at the little clock in the corner of the screen and it was already ten AM and he still wasn't at work. Two hours late; his father wasn't going to be pleased at all. With no hesitation, he pushed on the throttle and drove as fast as he could.

~8~

Gwen woke up with the sun hitting her eyes. Once she was fully awake, she looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. She needed the change the wallpapers desperately but she could hardly afford a carton of milk. The wallpapers were stained with strange, brown markings and she preferred not to know what the previous flat owners had done with the place. It was ten AM and she was late for work, the third time in only a week. As soon as she had actually realised what time it was, she jumped out of her bed and grabbed onto the first dress she saw. She threw off her pyjamas and put the blue dress on as quickly as possible.

She headed to the bathroom where she looked at her reflection through the cracked mirror. She puckered up her lips and painted her lips with a bright, red lipstick she had lying around and done up her brown locks in a ponytail.

She headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge, only to find out of date milk, tonnes of beer and a few vegetables on the verge of rotting. "Gwen, dear, you're late!" Her father came stumbling into the room with his beer in his hand. Although he was drunk most of the time, when he was sober, he was the kindest father anybody could ask for. But with hardly any money and Gwen's mother leaving them for another man, everything slowly went downhill.

"I know, dad. If I had an alarm, things would be so much easier," She sighed, throwing the fridge door closed. She wandered over to her father and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Love you." She told him and he simply smiled at his daughter. With that, she rushed out of the flat and ran as fast as she could to the bus stop.

As she was running on the pavement, she glanced down at her cheap, Casio watch and realised it was ten past ten. Her boss was strict and she was lucky if she'd only give her a rambling and let her off for the fourth time. She was struggling to run in her flat shoes that had a gaping hole on the sole. She tried begging the boss for a higher pay but he wouldn't listen. All she wanted was a new pair of shoes yet she couldn't afford that.

She looked up and it seemed grey clouds were forming. "Rain." She mumbled under her breath. She managed to reach the bus stop and sat on the red bench as she waited for her bus to arrive. She couldn't stop looking at her watch and it seemed time was flying fast. After at least ten minutes, her bus still hadn't arrived and she knew she couldn't wait any longer. She stood and squinted her eyes to see if she could see a distinctive red bus approaching in the distance but there was none in sight. She sighed and knew there was only one way to reach work; she had to run, and fast.

She darted as fast she could, feeling the ping drops of water falling from the sky. She still had a while to go before she was anywhere near the café she worked in. She was crossing a road when suddenly a black Maserati came rocketing in her direction, making the car screech as the driver forcefully hit the pedal.

Arthur rolled down his window and peered his head out to look at the girl in front of his car. "Watch it!" He yelled at her. She glared at him in disgust because she knew very well who he was; he was a Pendragon and nobody around her area liked him or the family. They were just a bunch of rich people who were always up to no good.

"Why don't _you_ watch it, rich snob!?" Gwen yelled back at him, pointing at him in an intimidating way before eventually storming off out his car's way.

Arthur rolled up the window once again, steaming at what the woman had called him. Once again, he pushed on the pedal and went driving off in hopes his father wasn't going to be too angry with him.

~8~

He piled up all the papers once again and placed them back in his black briefcase. He straightened his tie as he made a quick run for it, and placing his briefcase above his head as protection from the rain. He rushed to the receptionist's desk, where he came face to face with Mrs. Gareth, her face saying it all. He threw his briefcase on top of the wooden desk and tried catching his breath.

"You're late," Mrs. Gareth glared at him from underneath her specs. She grabbed onto a pile of papers and contracts and chucked them right in front of Arthur's face. "You've got a lot to do. And if I were you, I'd start making a good excuse for being late. Now." She warned him.

"I know, I know but my alarm didn't go off, things happen." He huffed, grabbing onto the heavy pile of papers and placing them under his arm.

Mrs. Gareth picked up the phone on her desk and dialled a number. She twisted and played with the phone's cord as she waited for the person on the other end to answer. "Yes?" She said. "It's Mrs. Gareth. Your son's here. Should I send him up?" She looked up at the man who was now trembling in fear. Arthur knew very well that his father was strict and he wasn't prepared to get a rambling from him. "Alright, Mr. Pendragon," She put the phone down. "You'd better get your ass up there as soon as you can cuz' he isn't happy." She told him, a small laugh escaping from her mouth. Arthur sighed and then darted for the steps instead of using the busy elevator.

~8~

Gwen almost slipped as she ran through the café doors. It made a ringing sound as she pushed the door open. As soon as the sound was made, her boss emerged from the kitchen with the angriest expression anyone could ever imagine. Gwen's dress was soaking wet from the rain and her hair was all ruined, not like it mattered anyway because now she had to face her boss.

"Gwen!" The fat, man came storming into her direction. "Guess what?" He said, grabbing onto her arm violently. "You're late!" He yelled, balls of spit landing on Gwen's face. "For the fourth time this week!"

"I… I know, Mr Grant but … But… I woke up late. I promise this will be the last time, I promise!" She trembled, her arm hurting from his grasp. He glared into her eyes.

"How many times have you promised?" He asked her. Too many times and she knew that.

"I know, Mr. Grant, I've promised too many times but I need the money, you have to understand that." She was almost on the verge of the tears but she fought it back. She wasn't willing to cry in front of a heartless man like Mr. Grant.

He let go of her arm, shoving her slightly. "Get your apron on and hurry up!" He ordered her. She nodded sheepishly at her boss and darted into the changing rooms, not even daring to look back. She opened her locker and threw in her purse, removing the apron that sat on the shelf. She began to tie the apron around her waist, noticing all the oil stains on it. She'd also promised her boss she's get it cleaned but not even that she could manage.

"Gwen," A recognizable voice said. Gwen turned around, startled to find the chef, Lance, in the room as well. "I heard the ramble outside." He let his mouth slop to one side.

"Yeah... I was late, again." She sighed, tying her wet hair up in a ponytail again.

"Is he firing you?" His eyes widened.

"No, no. At least I don't think he is." She lowered her head slightly.

"Well, we'd better get to work before Mr. Pig Face comes in and tells us off." He tried lightening up the situation and managed to make Gwen grin.

"I'll be out in a sec." She told Lance. He nodded and headed to kitchens where the sound of burgers and chips sizzling could be heard.

As she walked into the bar, she noticed a handful of customers coming through the door probably to get some warm hot chocolate after the cold rain. She sighed and reluctantly went up to the first customer, faking an eager smile. "May I help you?" She asked the customer warmly.

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><p><strong>AN: **I know, I've already asked but please review. I don't know if I should carry on but I would definitely love to because I think a Modern Day twist on the love story would be interesting. R&R!

~Maddie


	2. II

**A/N: **Wow, thank you everyone for the feedback! I didn't even expect to get one review! Thank you a million! And thank you **Sherri **for your advice. You're more than right. I've updated earlier than expected, enjoy! Apologies for any mistakes and grammatical errors.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2:<strong> Clash Between Two Worlds

Arthur walked into the meeting room, or more like stumbled, causing everyone to look up at him. Uther turned to look at his son and all Merlin did was shake his head in disappointment. He quickly scurried to the spare seat on the long table and everybody watched him carefully as he set his briefcase and the mountain of papers on the table. He stretched the tight collar around his neck nervously, knowing he had probably embarrassed his father.

"I apologise for my son's late arrival," His father said to all the other suited businessmen sat on the table, a fake smile stretched across his face as he spoke. Once he said those words, he looked over at his son and his smile was quick to vanish. His face screamed 'we'll talk later'. He turned back to face the PowerPoint he had projected on the screen. "Anyway," Uther took in a rather long breath. "As you can see, this large area contains semi abandoned flats, mostly populated by the lower class," He said, his hand hovering over the large area on the map. "I believe we could use this space efficiently to allow space for businesses."

All the men nodded eagerly, stopping to take notes every time Uther would start a new sentence. Meanwhile Arthur sat there trying his best to be attentive but it was proving hard; oh, the countless meetings he had attended in the past few years. He was dragged along everywhere his father went, mostly because Uther loved showing off his fantastic, successful son who had achieved many things before even reaching twenty three. Arthur was well aware of the fact his own father looked at him as a trophy more than a son but then again, he couldn't complain. That's where Merlin would normally come in; it seemed Merlin was the only person who cared about his friendship than his status in society. That's why Arthur considers him his best friend and at times, his brother.

Arthur would always try to push the negative facts at the back of his mind and concentrated on the positives. He was rich, he had everything any man would want and most of all, he had a beautiful girlfriend, Vivian, she too being the daughter of a successful business man. Their fathers had been friends for years and Uther had always said they were a perfect match, even when the two were still little kids. They grew up around each other and eventually began dating a year ago. Arthur felt he was doing it more for his father than for himself. Lately, it seemed the relationship was going downhill; most of the time, they fought and bickered about the most useless things, causing Arthur to become distant. And even that caused more fighting.

Arthur quickly slipped out his phone from his pocket and checked the time. It was already quarter to one and he had no clue how he had managed to survive the whole meeting.

"It has been a pleasure to listen to your pitch, Mr. Pendragon." One of the business men said, shaking Uther's hand and smiling away at him as the other men left the meeting room.

"The pleasure's all mine." Uther smiled back at him. Eventually, he too left, leaving Uther and his son alone, something Arthur wasn't exactly looking forward to.

"Father, I –"

"No, Arthur. How could you turn up late for such an important meeting? Are you trying to purposely embarrass me?" His father cut him off.

"No, I…" He sighed. He wasn't going to listen to Mrs. Gareth's advice and make up an excuse. He had to be straight with him. "My alarm didn't go off, okay, I was late, I'm sorry father, it won't happen again."

"Well, it's too late, you've already embarrassed me." Uther said before eventually turning his back from him and storming off. He noticed as he walked down the corridor, he came across some women and smiled happily at them as he walked by. It was typical of his father; he acted one way with him and another way with everyone else.

His phone vibrated, a sign he had received a text message from someone but he had no idea who would be messaging him now. He reached for his phone in the deep pocket of his trousers and unlocked the screen. Written in bold was Vivian, 1 message. He was surprised to get a message from her, especially after all the fights they were having. He reluctantly opened the it, hopeful it wasn't another silly message where she'd provoke and belittle him. Much to his surprise, it was something he wasn't expecting.

"_Hey babe… I really want to start fresh. I know, lately I've been acting like a pure cow and I'm sorry. Want to meet up? Café later, downtown? Meet me there at one! x_" It read. He found it odd that she had lightened up so quickly but at least it seemed the fighting had finally ended. It was almost one and he was thankful that Vivian had messaged him to meet up at the café; at last, he was free for a little while, away from his depressing job and away from his father.

For some reason, he went to his photos and flicked through them, most of them being photos with Vivian and Merlin. He laughed at one when the picture of his face smeared with cake showed up on the screen. He remembered that birthday party; things with Vivian were great then and he was actually happy in the image. Those were the times.

"What you up to?" Merlin asked his hands in his pocket as he stared at his friend.

"Oh, nothing," He quickly shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Hey, um, Vivian wants to grab a coffee… not sure if I want to go alone. Up for a Latte?" He asked him, smiling. He didn't want to go all by himself, especially because things were still a little 'sensitive' between the couple.

His best friend grinned stupidly at him. "Oh, you're all in love again." He said playfully, patting Arthur on the arm.

"Yeah… Anyway, let's go, we don't want to be late." Arthur joked, a small laugh escaping from Merlin's lips.

"So, you drive or I drive?" His friend asked eagerly.

"There's no way in hell I'd let you touch my baby." Arthur said, grinning. He flicked the car keys in the air and caught it in his palm, Merlin rolling his eyes at him.

~8~

The rush hour was only about to begin. Lance was getting everything heated up in the kitchen working at one thousand miles per hour to make sure the food was always served up quickly. Gwen was taking orders left, right and centre, constantly jotting down every word the customer would say onto her small notepad.

As she was making a hot chocolate for one of the customers, she accidentally knocked it off with her elbow, spilling the milk all over the already dirty floor and the glass cup shattering everywhere. "Oh, no!" She clenched her head with her hands as she watched the milk rush in all directions.

"Where's my coffee already?" One of the customers moaned in the long line.

"Hurry up!" Another yelled, frustrated at the long wait.

"I'm sorry; I'll be as quick as I can!" She told them both, grabbing onto the mop nearby and wiping the floor quickly before her boss saw it. That was the last thing she needed. It seemed luck was not in her favour.

"What's all the racket about?" Her boss came storming from the back of the café.

"Your waitress is making me wait ten minutes for a coffee!" A man all suited up told him. "_He's part of the rich clang_." Gwen said inwardly. It could only have been one of those rich snobs. They loved to belittle the people below them so it was no wonder he made the most of the opportunity he had to get Gwen into trouble.

"You can't be serious," He stormed into her direction, forcefully yanking the mop out of her hand. It made Gwen shrink slightly. It was as if at any minute, he'd just give her a big slap across the face. "Leave this to me!" He yelled at her, angrily throwing the mop into the corner. "How can I help you?" He turned to face the customer in front who had been waiting for ages, smiling as if the customer hadn't witnessed what had just happened. Gwen wasn't having her best days and she didn't even understand herself why she wasn't getting things done properly.

"Yeah, that'll be a hot chocolate, please." The customer glared at Gwen in disgust before eventually looking away, rising their head slightly in a way that screamed 'I'm better than you'. It angered Gwen so much and she felt so helpless. She just wished everything would change. She just wished everything at home would go to the way it was. She just wished she was happy. Her father was constantly telling her she was a good woman and that she'd be happy one day. However, she knew very well it wasn't ever going to happen. She practically lived the life of a slum, how on Earth was she going to ever be happy? She tried fighting back the tears, her fists clenching in irritation. All the anger she had felt over the past few years was bottling up inside of her more and more each day.

"What you standing there for? Do something useful and wait the tables with Stephanie!" The boss yelled at her while the coffee machine buzzed and fuzzed.

She snapped out of her daydream. "Yes, Mr. Grant." She forced those words out although what she wanted to do most was leave London and go far away, away from everybody, especially the Pig Head of a boss. Reluctantly, she got out her notepad once again from the pocket in her apron and wandered over to the tables where newly arrived customers had sat on. She looked over at Stephanie who was waiting on another table and they shared a glance. Steph saw the sadness in her eyes and forced a smile, making Gwen force a smile too.

"Welcome to Grant's Café, what will it be today?" Gwen asked the blonde woman sat alone on a table. She was smiling so excitedly at her, flicking through the pages of the menu. Her nails were French manicured and her earrings were a bright gold.

"Um, my boyfriend hasn't arrived, so um, could you wait?" She bit her red stained lip and flickered her eyes, her eyelashes almost the length of her hair. Gwen was certain she was part of the rich clang too. Most of the upper class came to Grant's place mostly because they sold low priced coffee and it was close to the Pendragon Real Estate, a large business down the road.

Gwen's hatred for the upper class spurred six years ago; her father worked in the Pendragon Real Estate building, the one that towered up in the skyline, covered with glass. He worked as the caretaker and the pay was good, although the job was really nothing special. The marriage between her parents was perfect; things couldn't have been going better.

Gwen's father, Tom, was finally managing to save up money for her to go to university. She was an aspiring student, always the best in her class. Her dreams of becoming a doctor were shattered when one day, Uther fired her father from the job, stating that he couldn't allow light-skinned people to work in the building. Somehow, he managed to get away with the racism and eventually, the family were slowly losing money to the point of bankruptcy.

Soon enough, her father had to sell their beautiful home and had to go live in cheap flats down the road. After that, her father started to drink and Gwen's mother was gradually distancing herself. She tried her best to make some money, working in a day care, then eventually getting fired. She then decided to work in a grocery store but eventually getting fired once again for her bad temper. After that, she gave up and started to leave the house often, leaving scraps of takeaway she would buy on the kitchen counter every morning.

Then one day, without a warning or a simple goodbye, she left her wedding ring beside a goodbye note and left, never to be heard of again. The money which was once for Gwen's university fees was all used up to pay the bills and she had to quit school and find herself a job to sustain herself and her father. He began to drink and there was no way he was in good conditions to work. One day, she just came stumbling into the Café on a cold, rainy morning, begging Mr. Grant for work. Despite his coldness, he managed to give her a job but she didn't realise how sucky it would be. And that's her life up till now; terrible and hopeless.

The bell hanging above the door rung, causing the bubbly woman to clap her hands together like a little girl. Gwen looked over and noticed the two suited men who had entered. One of them was certainly her boyfriend considering her reaction when they entered. As she looked closely, she recognized one of them; it was that rich Arthur Pendragon that had almost run her over. He was probably the last person she wanted to see.

"Arthur!" The woman beamed, revealing her shiny, white teeth underneath her lips. "Oh, you bought him?" She pointed at the man standing alongside The Pendragon. His friend glanced over at the blonde man, slopping his mouth to one side.

"Yeah, he wanted to come too." The Pendragon said, elbowing his friend, almost as if to say 'keep quiet'.

"Oh, it's fine," The woman gave out a laugh, snorting as she did so. "Arthur, come sit next to me!" She said a little loudly, patting the wooden chair beside her. Both men came over to the table, the blonde one obviously seating himself beside his girlfriend. He placed his hand on the back of the woman's chair and leaned back casually in his seat. She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lip and then smiled all excitedly again. "So, what you going to have?" She asked them. Gwen was tapping her pen against her notepad, waiting for them to hurry up with their order.

"A latte for me." The friend said, lifting his finger in the air.

"I'll have a coffee, two sugars." The Pendragon ordered. When he glanced up at her, his mood clearly changed. He too had recognized the woman.

"I'll have what he's having." She smiled, placing her hand on her boyfriend's chest so that his gaze was cut off with the waitress. Gwen quickly scribbled the order and then looked up at them again, waiting for them to order something else.

"Well?" The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Off you go." She told her, fanning her hands at her like she was an annoying fly.

"Oh, sorry. I'll be back." Gwen smiled but once she turned her back, she rolled her eyes. Angrily, she ripped the paper off the notepad along the dotted lines and handed the paper to Mr. Grant who was busy away making coffees.

As she waited at the bar for their coffees to be made, she looked over at the table and noticed how eccentric the woman really was. She wouldn't stop throwing her arms in all directions and one thing she wouldn't stop doing was touching her boyfriend constantly. The friend seemed to be the third wheel, sitting their awkwardly, constantly giving the Pendragon a weird look. Arthur noticed Gwen staring and glanced up at her but she was quick to look away. Oh, the disgust and anger she felt. If only that Pendragon knew what his father had done to her family. One act he did and her entire life was ruined forever.

Once Mr. Grant was done with the order, he carefully placed the coffees on a tray and placed it in front of Gwen. "Watch your step." He glared at her, making Gwen nod sheepishly.

She reluctantly strolled over to the table being careful with her footing. Once she arrived at the table, she slowly put the tray down on the table. "Latte," She said smiling, placing the hot cup in front of the black haired boy. "Coffee," She grabbed onto the other hot mug, placing it in front of the Pendragon and refusing to look up at him. "And another coffee." She grabbed onto the third cup which was oddly hotter and was almost about to place the cup in front of the woman, only to drop it as the cup burnt her fingers. The lady instantly jerked up from her seat as the hot liquid spilled all over her pure white dress.

Gwen placed her hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp. "Oh, I am so sorry!" Instantly, she grabbed onto the napkin box on the table and yanked out several tissues and reached out for the woman's dress.

"No!" She yelled, shoving Gwen's arms away from her. "Look what you've done you stupid girl!" The lady looked down at her dress and it was now stained with a large coffee patch.

"Can't you be a bit more careful?" Her boyfriend shouted angrily, stepping in to defend his damsel in distress. Gwen noticed his friend was snickering away and they were too worried about her to even look at him.

"I'm sorry, oh my god, I'll get a towel if you want, another coffee as well." Gwen panicked.

"Haven't you realised what dress you've just ruined?" She pointed at the waitress. "This cost me hundreds!"

"What's going on?" Mr. Grant came to intervene and once he caught sight of the coffee stain on the woman's dress, his eyes widened.

"Your 'waitress' here spilt coffee all over my expensive dress and she will be paying for another one!"

"Right," Mr. Grant turned to face Gwen who was now trembling in fear. "You're fired!" He pointed his hand at the door and grabbed onto her towel, yanking it off her waist.

"What!" Gwen looked at everyone and they all glared at her in anger, except the black haired boy she noticed. "No, please, Mr. Grant, it was an accident!" She begged.

"Accident?" The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "She did it on purpose! She clearly had her eye on _my_ boyfriend and just got jealous." She spat.

"I did not!" Gwen let her temper boil. "You're just as snobby as he is!" She spat and she didn't realise that those words were only getting her into more trouble.

"Excuse me?" The Pendragon said, shocked at what he had just heard.

"Get out before I force you!" Mr. Grant shoved Gwen and she stumbled to the floor, the woman smiled as she watched. "Get up and go! And don't think you'll ever come back here!" He made sure to tell her. A tear began to roll down her cheek as everybody in the café now watched on, laughing and giggling. Without hesitation, she darted out of the café in tears. She had messed up everything. Now what was she going to do? How was she going to explain this to her father?

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><p><strong>AN: **What'dya think? Let me know! Until next time.

~Maddie


	3. III

**A/N:** Hello guys. I would like to thank everybody who has reviewed/favourited/followed my story. I appreciate the lengthy reviews some of you give me and I just didn't think I'd get more than five reviews on the first chapter. Thank you, thank you and thank you! I love you guys so much.

This is probably going to be the longest A/N you have read but I would really appreciate it if you could read it quickly.

I got one or two people saying that Gwen was OOC because in the Merlin series she is confident, fierce, graceful and intelligent but in my story she is inept and seems to lack all that I mentioned above. Well, I will try and explain that: when Gwen had to quit school, she basically lost all hope and therefore lost that confidence of hers and became a little sensitive and that's what I was trying to show the reader. But I probably didn't make the change clear enough for the reader to understand so my apologies. I did try to show a bit of her confidence in the last scene in the last chapter where she had that outburst but clearly it wasn't enough. I would just like to say that I made Gwen clumsy in the previous chapter because, well, she was having a bad day and I was showing how unlucky she really was. However, as the story progresses, she will gain that confidence and fierceness and strength as she learns and grows and that's what I am going to be doing with her (hopefully you understand and you'll still stick with me!).

I know I shouldn't use excuses but definitely one of my weakest points when it comes to writing is keeping a character as original to the series as possible. Sometimes I get carried away and write the character the way I want it to be. Also, I've only been on this site for a month and I haven't had much experience in writing fanfictions. So once again, I apologise for any plotholes or characters that are OOC. However, I do feel that over time, I will improve because I'm really liking where this story is going and although it's going to be a bit tricky to figure out how exactly Gwen and Arthur's relationship will spark, I'm willing to give it a go.

So sorry for my long ramble but I wanted to get things cleared up! I was not offended by the criticism I got, I think it has made me think about Gwen's character and improve it as much as possible. So if you do have any criticism to point out, do tell me, as long as you're not being rude or condescending and you actually tell me how I should improve. So here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. I've already got the next chapter somewhat figured out and planned!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3:<strong> Evil Angel

Her eyes were redder than wine after the sobbing she did all the way back home, her nose running. It seemed like the journey from the café to the flats took forever but that time was enough for Gwen to quickly regret what she had done. Despite everything and way she felt about the Pendragons, she knew she acted rash. But now it was too late to go back, no second chance. As soon as she saw the flats approaching in the distance, she sniffled, rubbed her eyes and wiped away any residues of tears on her cheeks. She had no idea what she was going to tell her father. Tom knew Gwen was a good and sensible woman, unable to do a single thing wrong or harm a fly. Yet just one bad day at work was enough to get her fired and become jobless and once again, hopeless.

She walked up the stairs of the apartment block and found Wendy, her neighbour, hanging the clothes on the rusted metal rail. As soon as the chubby woman looked upon Gwen's red-veined eyes, she knew something was off, especially because she had never seen Gwen cry in the twenty years she had lived in the flats. When Gwen took note of her presence, she made sure to rub her eyes one more time and give her a warm smile, something she would always do to everyone no matter the circumstance.

"Darlin', is something wrong?" Wendy said, her cockney accent distinguishable. She stopped picking out her knickers she had in the clothes basket beside her and lowered her eyebrows as she scanned Gwen.

She shyly nodded at Wendy who was now gazing quizzically at her. "Nothing is wrong, Mrs. Gibbs." Gwen said in an almost believable manner. She was always so formal, something Wendy admired about the young woman. Nowadays, it was impossible to find anybody her age acting the way she did or speaking the way she did. Wendy was well informed on Gwen's rocky past too and would often visit her and her father, sometimes bringing biscuits and cakes she baked along with her. In a way, Mrs. Gibbs was like the mother she never had. She too knew what it was like to lose an important part of a person's life; her husband had died of liver cancer ten years ago due to his alcoholism. And now Gwen's father was drinking more and more every day and the thought of losing her own dad haunted her mind all the time.

"Was it that Mr. Grant that gave ya another tellin' off was it?" Wendy sympathetically slopped her mouth to one side. Oh, the countless stories that Gwen had told her about Mr. Grant's outbursts and fiery temper. Now Gwen wasn't going to hear another word from him because now she had no job at the café. For a split second, Gwen thought about being honest and admitting she had gotten fired. However, she knew she'd disappoint her and she didn't want that.

"Yes, Mrs. Gibson, you know how he is," Gwen lied, lowering her head and looking at her shoes in shame. Something she hated doing was lying, especially to those closest to her heart. "But you shouldn't worry about me." She forced a smile.

"Of course I should, you know ow' I am," She grinned, placing her hand on her large waist. "Oh, I made those cakes you and yer daddy like, wanna have some?" She said eagerly, pointing at the half open door to her flat.

"No thank you, Mrs. Gibson, but I appreciate it." Gwen forced out another smile.

"Alright, Gwennie. Take care." Mrs. Gibson said, concentrating once again on the laundry and hanging them on the railing.

With that, Gwen was about to reach for her purse to find her keys but realised she had left it in her locker back at Mr. Grant's café. Great, she knew she had to go back there and she had no idea if he was willing to let her set foot in the café, not after what she had done. She knocked on the door softly, hoping her father wasn't drunk enough to ignore the knocks. Luckily though, he was sober today and managed to pull open the door. He was surprised to see her because it was still early for her to be back home already. Once he looked into her eyes, he knew instantly something was wrong.

"Guinevere, why you home so early? You forgot your keys? What's going on?" He looked her up and down, noticing her blue dress was slightly dirty on the ends and her eyes were redder than usual.

She looked up at him and let that smile of hers fade completely. Her eyes had lost that gleam it once had and he had never seen her that way. She dragged herself into the worn, dirty flat and slumped herself on the cheap sofa in the living room that faced nothing but a white, stained wall. That very wall once hung a family photo, which was when things were still stable in her family life. On the wooden coffee table in front of her was an empty bottle of Heineken, Tom's favourite beer. She sighed as she started into the green glass, thinking maybe her father had quit his habit for at least a day. Tom worriedly scurried after her, still completely unbeknownst to what was wrong. Many thoughts raced through his mind; Mr. Grant had given her another ramble or maybe there was a boy involved he didn't know about (her father was always so protective over his only daughter). Even the possibility of rape came to his mind considering the state her dress was in and the fact she had come home without her purse. Considering all the bad things he'd read in the newspapers, he could only imagine something terrible had happened.

"Dear, what's wrong?" He sat beside his daughter who had now let her face fall into her hands. "Tell daddy what's wrong." By the sound of his tone, he was worrying a lot now. He gently ran his hand through her dark brown locks.

"Daddy, I'm such a disappointment." She mumbled, her face still stuck to her hands. He noticed her voice cracked a little as she spoke and he was certain she had been crying her eyes out.

"No you're not, sugar. You make me proud every day." He let a smile grow on his face, still running his hand through her soft hair.

Her father would always say those kinds of things to her and it really did make her happy. But once he found out about what had happened earlier, she knew all those words would automatically lose all meaning.

One thing Tom always taught Gwen was to be kind to everyone, friend or foe alike. Even though what Uther Pendragon did to him was unfair and cold-hearted, he believed that one day karma was to strike back and he stuck by that belief ever since that day he got fired.

Slowly, Gwen unglued her face from her hands and stared into her father's brown eyes in the most sorrowful way anybody could imagine. "I've lost my job," She quietly muttered. The smile her father once had slowly turned into a gaping expression. "It's all my fault. What are we going to do now? I promised you I'd work hard and look what I've done." She whimpered. She had no idea what she was going to do with her life now. She needed to find a job someplace else and desperately. The question though: how and where?

He shook his head slowly from side to side. "No… Dear, what happened?" His face said it all. He was utterly disappointed and he even untangled his fingers out of her hair.

"I was late, I made a mess and I ruined a customer's dress. I ruined everything." She was feeling the water slowly rushing out of her tear ducts and instantly faced the window, unable to cry in front of her own father. She gazed at the unclean glass and noticed there was a rainbow outside. It had stopped raining and it was slightly ironic because it seemed the weather was having a better time than she was.

Her father gently grabbed onto the sides of her face and made her turn her head to look at him once again. "Daddy isn't disappointed… You're a strong and smart woman and I know you'll be able to find a better job than working with that Grant pig," He made sure to look her straight in the eyes. He genuinely hated Mr. Pig Face especially after all the things he had made her go through. It was almost unbelievable how cold and evil the world had turned out in just twenty years. It seemed nowadays, no matter where you went you couldn't find a single decent person. "Gwennie dear, I'm not disappointed." He said truthfully and this time he made sure to say it in a more certifying tone. Gwen let out a sigh. She did believe him but now what was she going to do now that she wasn't working at the café?

"What do I do now? I can't stay home and do nothing. I don't know where else to look for a job." Gwen said.

"Don't worry. Tomorrow when the newspaper comes through the post, skim through the job section and you'll find one, dear." He smiled sincerely at his daughter. There was always a large amount of vacancies in the job section and Gwen was bound to find a new job in no time.

"It's not that easy, father." Gwen made sure to mention. She knew that because of the colour of her skin, many would turn her down. Basically, anybody that wasn't white coloured was perceived as different, inadequate and in some cases, incompetent and dangerous. And there was enough proof to prove that; just the other day when Gwen was still at the café, she skimmed through the newspaper during her short lunch break. One of the headlines was about a black man who had been turned down for a job in a factory because of his colour. Yep, even in the twenty-first century, things like that were still pretty much fresh and it seemed such racism would never die out.

"I know it's not," Tom said. "But do you remember what I used to tell you when you were still a little girl, Gwennie? You know that quote Martin Luther King said?" He grinned at her hoping that something in her memory would spark.

Gwen couldn't help but grin along with him. Ah yes, who could possibly forget that quote Tom used to always say in dire situations? "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." They spoke simultaneously. Gwen then relived that day when she came home upset that she had got a low score in maths. She was certain she wasn't going to get any better at it. But of course, her father made sure to cheer her up and used that very quote to make her feel better. And it was as if it was magic; the next time she did a maths test, her score had improved greatly. Gwen knew if it wasn't for her father's motivation, she probably wouldn't have managed that score. Martin Luther King Jr. had always been one of Tom's heroes and that quote was of many that stuck by him.

As they smiled at each other on the sofa, the rusty, metal flap from the letterbox clanged against the door and the sound of letters being dropped on the mat was heard. Their little moment of happiness was stopped and Gwen immediately lifted herself up from the worn sofa and strolled towards the door. Lying on the mat was a bunch of letters and she didn't even have to be up close to them to know what they were. She walked over towards them and grabbed them. One by one, she glanced at the company logo on the corner of each envelope; all of them were just bills. Gwen let out a huff and hesitantly walked back to the living room. Her father glanced at the letters in her hand and he too knew what it was. His smile he had was wiped again.

"Bills." Gwen muttered, placing them on the wooden coffee table. She picked one up and opened the gas and electricity bill first. She read the bold number at the bottom and it was oddly cheaper this month, which was a relief of course. But considering the other bills still left to open, the amount of money collectively was probably going to be over three hundred pounds. To them, three hundred pounds was like gold. To others, it was almost like a five pound note and nothing else.

"I'm so sorry, Gwennie, you don't deserve this." Tom looked up at Gwen and noticed her face as she read the numbers. He knew in that brain of hers she was adding up all the numbers.

"For what, daddy?" Gwen asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"For making you worry about these things so early in your life. You should be at university." Tom glanced sorrowfully at his daughter, pointing at the bills on the table. Although Gwen wasn't aware, there wasn't a single day that went by where Tom wouldn't think about Gwen's future. When he was drunk, he was an idiot and was rash. But when he was sober, he was different. He was his old self. He often felt self-pity for choosing alcohol as an escape from reality and his responsibilities as a father.

"I know I should," Gwen lowered her head. "But what else is there for me? I must work. I'm doing this for both of us, daddy." She smiled meekly.

~8~

"That girl is going to pay for this; I don't care how or when!" Vivian fumed as she attempted to wipe the coffee on her dress with a thin tissue. It was only smearing the dress even more. "Useless." She angrily tossed the tissue out the window of her boyfriend's Maserati.

"She will, Viv." Arthur assured her as he drove to Vivian's apartment. He still couldn't take his mind off what the waitress had called him. "_A snob?" _He constantly repeated in his head. Not only was he deeply offended by the remark but he was angry that she had the guts to say something like that to him, considering everybody knew who he was and who his father was. He was used to receiving the utmost respect from everyone.

"It was just an accident." Merlin muttered quietly, seated in the back seat of the car. Although Merlin was never going to admit it, he had never really been fond of Vivian. Everything about her just annoyed him, every little thing. Even being Arthur's friend, he knew he could do much better; someone who wasn't an attention seeker at least.

"An accident?" Vivian turned around to look at Merlin, glaring at him. It seemed she had heard Merlin speak but he was glad she did hear him. "This was anything but an accident." She said, letting out a loud huff. "Did you see the way she looked at you?" She whined and looked over at Arthur who was concentrating on the road. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and crossed her arms like a little girl. "God."

"Look, I promise I'm going to get this sorted. Don't worry about it. Forget her, Viv." He quickly glanced over at his girlfriend and smiled. He was definitely not going to let the waitress get away without paying for the damage she had caused.

"I know, Arty, but you know how I am," She smiled stupidly at him. "I'm the jealous type; I don't want any other girl to have you." She said, pouting her lips in a playful manner.

"I only have eyes on you and you should know that," Arthur made sure to mention. Vivian smiled at her boyfriend's remark while Merlin cringed as he listened on. "I saw that, Merlin." Arthur looked into the rear-view mirror and noticed Merlin's nose was shrivelled up and he knew it was because his friend hated witnessing the couple's romantic antics. No wonder Merlin was still single; he found the whole love thing slightly disgusting.

"Saw what?" Merlin asked back, looking at his friend through the mirror.

"Forget it." Arthur quickly changed the subject and concentrated on the road again. They were already nearing Vivian's apartment by the amount of nice looking houses on both sides of the street.

"When are we going to have a date when he's not around?" Vivian asked, not mentioning Merlin's name, although that's exactly who she meant.

Merlin felt slightly offended by her words. "_I have a name, thank you very much._" He said to himself inwardly as he squinted his eyes. In her eyes, he was just an annoying fly that got in the way of their relationship.

"I – "

"Right," Arthur made sure to cut off Merlin. He knew whatever was going to come out of Merlin's mouth would only cause bickering and tension between the three. "Here we are." Arthur said, slowing his Maserati down and parking in front of a tall and modern apartment block.

Merlin opened the Maserati's glossy, black door and stepped outside. Before he could swing the door shut, Vivian stopped him. "Don't worry. Me and Arty will be back in a sec." She smiled at him, fluttering her eyes in a childlike manner. While Vivian was turned away, Arthur mouthed 'sorry' to Merlin and his friend simply rolled his eyes. Merlin had no idea how much longer he could possibly tolerate Vivian. Her attempts to try and separate the two at all costs were very blatant.

With that, he frustratingly sat himself back into the car and huffed, rolling down the window using the little button. He then peered his head out of the window. "Don't do anything stupid." Merlin joked.

Arthur turned around and gave Merlin a glare that screamed 'shut up, Merlin'. He noticed Arthur's cheeks had gone slightly red and it seemed Vivian had picked up on it too, which was why she was grinning. "We won't, Merlin." He then pressed the button on his car keys to lock the car which also automatically rolled up all the windows.

"Oi!" Merlin's shout was muffled as his voice was unable to escape to the outside.

The couple entered the apartment block and headed straight to the elevator. Vivian made sure to walk quickly though it was proving hard in her high heels. She was eager not to let anybody see her in such a horrible state especially because everybody knew her as the woman who was always looking good. After about three seconds, the elevator gave out a ping and the doors slowly opened and Vivian's worst nightmare was coming true. Stepping out of the elevator was Sophia and her boyfriend, Vivian's worst enemy to say the least. Sophia worked in her father's business and ever since the brunette stepped foot in the place, Vivian grew a certain hatred towards her simply out of jealousy.

"Had an accident?" Sophia raised an eyebrow, pointing at Vivian's coffee stained dress. Vivian noticed she snickered slightly but tried to mask it. Sophia's boyfriend just grinned like it was the most hilarious thing in the world. There had always been competitiveness between both women; who had the best clothes? Who had the best looking boyfriend? Who had the best jewellery? The list was never-ending. Vivian fumed as she watched the flamboyant couple walk away looking rather content with themselves.

"Come on, Vivian." Arthur said, walking into the elevator and pressing the number twenty button which was the floor Vivian's apartment was located on. Angrily, she stomped into the elevator and crossed her arms. The doors closed and now the couple were both incubated in a room of silence.

"You didn't even defend me." She said crossly. She inched slightly away from Arthur.

"Vivian, you –"

"You never say anything nice to me. Sophia's boyfriend always does. He sends her flowers to work and all." She moaned, cutting Arthur off before he could say anything else.

"I…" He had just said something nice to her just a few minutes ago in the car and it seemed she had already forgotten completely about it. Arthur was well aware of the competitiveness there was between Sophia and his girlfriend. His father making him feel like a trophy was already hard enough but his own girlfriend too? "Forget it." Arthur sighed. There was no point in even trying to say anything else. Even after the attempt to fix things, they both ended up back on square one. They remained in silence all the way up until the ping of the elevator broke it. As soon as the doors opened, Vivian stumbled out and instinctively, Arthur grabbed onto her arms to stop her from falling.

"I'm fine, Arty." She muttered, pulling away from Arthur's grasp.

"Fine." He put his hands up and let her walk on her own. He hesitantly followed after her although he knew exactly where the apartment was. Once they reached the brown, oak door, Vivian reached into her Dior purse and grabbed onto the apartment keys. She shoved the keys into the keyhole and pushed the door open, revealing the modern and extravagant interior. She chucked her purse onto the corner sofa and pulled off her heels with her feet, leaving them on the animal carpet.

"I'll be back." Vivian mumbled as she walked away and into her room. Arthur simply nodded and sat himself on the corner sofa and waited for Vivian to change clothes. He had been in this very situation before and he knew he was probably going to be waiting for a while. Unfortunately, he and Merlin still had to go back to work and finish off any business they had left. It's not that Arthur hates his job; it's just that sometimes it's too stressful and very time consuming. As he sat there blissfully, he remembered that when he was still a young lad, he often dreamt of becoming a footballer. His mother was always supporting him and telling him to chase his dream. He had the potential, the skill and the experience. His father on the other hand was on the other end of the rope in the tug of war game; he wanted Arthur to continue managing the Pendragon Real Estate business. Looking at his life now, his father had basically won the game. When Uther is to retire, Arthur is to take his place and he is very much not looking forward to that day.

Arthur huffed and took out his phone from his pocket to look at the time. Vivian had spent over fifteen minutes and she still wasn't ready. He could hear the sounds of clothes hangers clanging in the wardrobe so he knew she was doing something. As he scanned the living room, he thought about switching on the LG Plasma TV to check if any football matches were on but he soon decided to scrap that idea. He glanced at the dining table not too far from him and noticed a pile of magazines piled on top of one another. Since there was nothing else to entertain him in the meantime, he curiously wandered over to the table. He picked the first one up which was about losing weight. He really didn't understand what all the fuss about losing weight was about; Vivian was perfectly fine. In fact, there were probably women out there begging to have a figure like Vivian's. He slopped that one down and grabbed the next one; it was a weddings magazine. He curiously flicked through it and the pages contained dresses, accessories and tips for a wedding. After scanning through that one, he noticed the other magazine was also a wedding one. And then the one underneath that one was a wedding one, and then the next and then the next. Oh God, a whole pile of wedding magazines?

"_What's that Vivian planning?_" He asked himself, feeling almost daunted by the whole wedding thing. There was however one exception in the midst of the pile; a copy of a GQ magazine. On the cover was Channing Tatum, that attractive actor Vivian wouldn't stop going on about. "_He's not even that special._" Arthur gazed at him and pointed out all his flaws in his head.

"Why couldn't you be more like him?" Vivian interrupted Arthur's thoughts, pointing her finger on Channing Tatum's face. He let out a sigh. He put the magazine down and turned around to find Vivian in a different dress and looking all freshened up. "Um, anyway… I decided I'm going to be driving back to work in my car. You can go already." Not only had she made he and Merlin wait for no reason but he could have been using that precious time to be finishing off important things.

"Vivian, why didn't you tell me that before?" Arthur furrowed his eyebrows.

"Sorry, Arty… You're not mad at me, are you?" Vivian flustered her eyebrows and gave Arthur that puppy dog look that nobody could resist.

"I… No, Viv. It's fine. See you tomorrow." He waved her goodbye but Vivian pulled him back and gave him a kiss on the lips, surprising him a little. Even though a minute ago they were annoyed with each other, they were once again in normal mode. Their whole relationship was even worse than a rollercoaster.

"Bye, honey." Vivian smiled eagerly, leaving a red stain on Arthur's lips. Arthur quickly smiled at her before eventually walking out of the apartment. Was it normal to feel so frustrated with your own girlfriend?

Arthur clicked the unlock button on his car keys, making an asleep Merlin jolt, startled by the sound. He opened the door and slumped on the driver's seat.

"About time." Merlin moaned, rubbing his eyes, straightening his suit and flicking off dust particles.

"Sorry about that." Arthur replied, starting his Maserati's engine.

"Nice lips," Merlin laughed. He noticed Arthur's lips had a redder tinge that usual. Of course he knew how he got that colour. "Ew, don't tell me you guys…" Merlin slammed his index fingers together in hopes that Arthur would understand what he was talking about.

"No, no. No, of course not, Merlin." Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. Merlin was always so childish.

Merlin grinned at his friend, placing the seat belt around him once again. "Back to work, right?"

"You know how it is." Arthur slopped his mouth to one side. Back to work it is.

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><p><strong>AN: **Chapter three done and dusted! I'm really liking where this story is going. I've already started on the next one and I can't wait. Thanks for the support guys!

Until next time, which I hope will be very soon.

P.S Channing Tatum is absolutely perfect! I love him! No hate intended haha.

~Maddie


	4. IV

**A/N: **A huge thanks to everybody who has reviewed, followed or favorited. I would like to apologize for how long it took me to update this story, I was lacking inspiration, so sorry! But here I am. Yes, the chapter is quite short, sorry for that too but hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Anywho, hope you enjoy.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: <strong>Prospects

Gwen pushed back the floral curtains in the living room, the ones that she was eager to change. They had a distinctive mouldy smell to it and the pattern was quite unflattering. She peered out of the window and looked left and right and all she saw were commuters rushing on the pavement. Some were wafting their hands in the air in an attempt to catch a bus driver's attention while others panicked as they saw their taxi dart off. Even though it seemed these people were under so much pressure and so much stress, oh the things Gwen would do to be in their position. At least they were doing something with their lives.

It seemed like it was going to be a sunny day, something that opposed the typical stereotyping against the British weather. There was a clear blue sky and the lack of clouds made the sunlight reach every corner of the street, beautifully reflecting all light brightly off the windows.

Gwen sighed as she dazed. Yesterday, she had become jobless and she hated herself knowing it was all her fault. But she wasn't going to let something like that get her down, not ever. She wasn't weak and she knew that.

She returned back to her chores once again, something she would always do on a Friday. She wiped the window sill with the orange cloth she had in her hands and was surprised by the amount of dust that had collected over the months. She never really thought about cleaning that specific spot. Once the window sill wasn't specked with grey particles any longer, she proceeded to clean the window. No matter how much Gwen wiped, nothing seemed to remove the strange smears and smudges off the glass. The cheap window cleaner spray she often used had run out last Sunday. How inconvenient; for now, she had to stick with paper and worn cloths.

In the midst of the cheap objects and furniture that furnished the small flat, there was something that Gwen was happy to have; a simple radio. While she cleaned, she often let the music play and listened to the radio DJ's speak about the latest news there was to talk about. As she dusted away, now concentrating on the coffee table and the specks of crumbles lying about, she started to listen attentively at what the announcer was saying.

"_And for today's music mix, we've got a special one up next, don't we Emily?_" The male announcer said eagerly.

"_Oh yes we do, Mike, a special one alright. Care to announce it for our amazing listeners out there before they get to work?" _Emily replied. Gwen listened on, curious as to what the next track was going to be. Typical Rihanna? Crazy Lady Gaga? Beyoncé?

"_Today, I'm going to play a personal favourite by an awesome band. So without further ado, here's Oasis - Wonderwall."_

Oasis was probably one of Gwen's favourite bands of all time. And Wonderwall was just one of many of the songs she liked by them. She was astonished by the song choice, especially because it seemed nowadays everybody liked the bouncy and jumpy songs there was streaming around.

The guitar kicked in and Gwen swiftly moved her hips from side to side and hummed the tune she only knew too well. The wiping movements she did with the cloth matched the rhythm of the song and Gwen let a genuine smile appear on her face.

"Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you," Gwen quietly sung. For some reason, she had never really listened properly to the lyrics before. But today, for some reason, the words were seeping into her mind and the words actually had meaning. "By now you should have, somehow, realized what you gotta do," She was getting more and more in the mood to the dance. She swirled round happily, still humming the catchy tune. "I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now." She dropped the cloth in her hands and plumped the pillows on the sofa, dust and fibres flying everywhere. The amount of energy the song gave her was almost surprising.

Every verse and every line was sung accurately; the atmosphere was more cheery and calm. Gwen forgot about everything. What mattered now was her novice dancing, her simple humming and the song itself. "Because maybe," Something inside her lightened up even more knowing the chorus had started. "You're gonna be the one that saves me," She twirled round and let her arms swing freely. "And after all, you're my Wonderwall."

"Dear?" Tom interrupted Gwen's little moment of euphoria, standing by the doorframe of the living room. Gwen immediately stopped dancing and turned quickly to face her father, slightly embarrassed that her father had probably witnessed her dancing and singing.

"Daddy." She replied naively, acting as if nothing had happened. She looked down at his hands and noticed the bottle of beer and that he was wearing his favourite white tank top, the one he would never wash.

He let a grin grow on is face because he really had just seen his daughter dance about so happily. Seeing his daughter happy made him happy. He took a long swig of beer and hiccupped once the glass was unattached from his lips. "Gwennie, would you mind buying some groceries? The cupboards are empty," He asked her, whirling round the beer bottle in his hand. "We need to have a decent dinner every now and then."

"Alright, dad. Just a minute." Gwen said, positioning the pillows neatly on the couch.

"Oh," Tom said, remembering something before he left the room. "You can pick up a newspaper on the way, dear." He reminded her.

"I will." Gwen smiled, her father smiling back before eventually strolling back to the kitchen where he would normally spend his days; slumped on the chair facing the small, wooden dining table.

Gwen went into her room and quickly changed herself into a simple white top and ripped blue jeans she had hidden in the closet. She didn't bother with her hair or her makeup at all.

She looked over at the bedside table and noticed some coins scattered everywhere. She grabbed a few and placed them in her pocket. She gave her room one last look, trying to figure out if there was something she had forgotten but she was sure she had everything.

"Won't be long!" Gwen shouted to her father as she closed the door to the flat. She knew the weather was good today but the air was surprisingly hot and humid.

She strolled down the pavement while people rushed by her, some brushing up against her shoulder and then giving her dirty looks. The road was filled up with cars rushing in either directions. She was beginning to sweat a little because the sun was flaming up her mocha coloured skin.

Gwen began to feel slightly embarrassed when she took note on the fact she was the only one who looked unprofessional and dressed so casually. It wasn't just businessmen and woman that were all dressed up but even mums and toddlers were dressed with the best clothes around. In the middle of the crowd, she was an outcast.

As Gwen was walking, she realised she was going in the same direction she would normally go in when she worked at the café. That's when something in her memory sparked; her purse and all her belongings were still locked away in her locker in the back of the café. Although at first hesitant, she wasn't going to allow Mr. Grant to impede her from stepping foot in the place.

She firstly mustered up the courage and then confidently pushed the café door open, the distinctive sound of the bell ringing in the quiet place. It was still early in the morning and for now, there were no customers. But soon, the place was going to fill up completely. She slowly walked towards the bar and noticed Mr. Grant was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, she heard the back door open and something in her began to fill with fear as she heard footsteps coming in her direction. Then, almost as if in a horror movie, Stephanie pops out from the kitchen door. She too seemed surprised to see Gwen, considering the look on her face. Gwen was just relieved it wasn't who she thought it was.

"Gwen?" Stephanie said, lowering her lip slightly to form a shocked expression. "I thought you were a customer." She said, rocketing in Gwen's direction and giving her a long hug and literally squeezing the air out of her.

"Alright, Steph," Gwen wheezed, trying to catch her breath. "Is Mr. Grant here?" She whispered just in case he was at the café.

"Today's your lucky day," Stephanie smiled excitedly. "He's sick. Won't be back for another week or so. Apparently, he caught a bad cold. Serves him right for firing you."

"Don't let him hear you say that." Gwen joked. She was glad he wasn't round and she was happy to see Stephanie again.

"Oh, don't worry about me," She smiled, revealing her straight teeth. "What brings you back to the caff?" Stephanie said, leaning against the bar.

"Well, I still have a few things in my locker. Wanted to get them back." Gwen told her while Stephanie nodded. The bell above the door rung and in entered a young woman. At last, the café had gotten their first customer of the day.

"You go and get your stuff." Stephanie gave her one last smile, quickly patting her arm.

Gwen innocently smiled back, eventually rushing herself to the back room where rows of lockers were at. She knew exactly where her locker was, noticing that the door had been tampered with. _That Mr. Grant, of course_, Gwen fumed. Who else would have been meddling around in her stuff? She double-checked everything; luckily, her purse hadn't been opened and her apron remained in the same position she left it in.

She zipped her purse open and found her lipstick and other materials of hers still intact and untouched. She stuffed her apron into her purse, knowing that she was never going to reuse it anyway and walked back into the bar where Stephanie was reading something on her phone. The woman who had entered the café was peacefully drinking her coffee on one of the tables at the far end all alone. Once again, the café was filled with quietness

"Found everything?" Stephanie asked, though her eyes remained fixed on phone's screen, flicking her finger up to scroll whatever page she was on.

"Uh, yeah, thankfully," She said, clenching onto her purse a little tighter. "Hey, has the newspaper arrived yet?" Gwen asked.

"Over there," Stephanie finally stopped looking at her phone screen and pointed to where the piles of other newspapers were located. "Looking for a job, right?" She said flatly.

Gwen wandered over to the pile and grabbed the first one, certifying first if it was one from today's date, and it was. She walked back to the bar, sat herself on the tall stools and laid the newspaper in front of her. "Yep, I need one desperately." Gwen replied. She didn't hesitate; she flicked straight to the job sections and immediately, she noticed the numerous ads and job vacancies that filled the page. Now the hard part was to choose a suitable one, one that at least had a good pay in order for her to pay all the bills that needed to be paid off.

As Gwen read carefully every little ad, Stephanie just watched on, feeling quite sorry for her dear friend. She knew the difficulties that Gwen had gone through all her life and seeing her friend end up where she was now, it was sad, it really was. A woman like her didn't deserve what came to her. She analysed her visage; her brown curls falling down her face, her round and perfectly carved face gave off the idea of innocence and perfection. Oh, and those eyes of hers; a soft and delicate brown that when you looked into them, you could possibly melt. She transmitted kindness with her every word and her simplicity was something Stephanie admired highly.

Gwen looked up at her friend, literally feeling the stare burning her skin. "What is it?" Gwen grinned, not knowing what had made Stephanie go into some sort of trance.

"Nothing," Stephanie smiled back. "Need any help?" She pointed at the paper in front of Gwen.

Gwen sighed slightly, placing her hands by her lap. "I don't know what jobs best." She admitted.

"Well, is there any that caught your eye?"

"Maybe one…" Gwen's finger landed on a small box. Stephanie rotated the newspaper round so that she could take a closer look.

"Hmm, food delivery to businesses and restaurants… A few hours a week… The company is _Blunketts_…Doesn't seem like a bad idea," Stephanie admitted. "There's a number here. I think you should give them a call."

"You think they'd accept me?" Gwen asked downheartedly.

"Of course they will, you're a hard worker, I know they will." Steph said in order to lighten up the situation. But she wasn't saying just for the sake of it, oh no, she was saying it because it was true.

However, Steph noticed Gwen's uneasiness, almost as if she wasn't convinced that it was true. She pushed her own phone into Gwen's direction and waited for her to react. "Call them," She insisted. "Come on."

Gwen's gaze would alternate between Steph's green eyes than back to the phone in front of her. This was her only opportunity and she was going to let it slip. And who knows, what if there were one hundred other people calling them in right now, wanting the same job too? No, she couldn't let something like this escape. Without a word and no more hesitation, she grabbed onto the phone and began to dial the eleven digit number, a smile on Stephanie's face as she watched.

As the call connected, Gwen bit her lip and gazed up at her friend, who was now giving her the thumbs up, almost as if to say _good luck_. Suddenly, somebody picked up and Gwen was rather astonished at the speed. Was this possibly a good sign?

"Hello, this is Maria Wilkinson from Blunketts, how may I help you?" The woman on the other end said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Annnnnnnd_ don't forget to tell me what you think. Oooh, a job for Gwen! Interesting... Anyway, once again, sorry for its shortness. I don't know when the next update will be, maybe soon, maybe not... But stick around and see!

~Maddie


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